Track Description
The discipline of project management has evolved dramatically over the past decade and is largely dependent upon the methodology used. Presenters in the Project Management track will explore the latest trends and best practices of leading and managing IT projects using emerging approaches. Thank  you to PMI Heartland for coordinating and sponsoring this track.
Continuing Education Credits
Attendees of the Project Management track sessions are eligible to receive professional development units (PDUs). PMI Heartland is granting one PDU for each one-hour session attended in the Project Management track.
Track Sessions
Growing PMI Using Agile Project Management
Jesse Fewell, Technology Management Consultant, Excella Consulting and Co-Founder, PMI Agile Community of Practice, Washington, D.C.
When the PMI chartered the Agile Community of Practice, it could have been just another component launch. However, these project managers were determined to eat their own dog-food: The leadership team committed to deliver a fully functioning PMI organization by practicing the very Agile techniques they advocated.
But how is this possible? How can you build an iterative, incremental business plan? How can you do emergent event planning? How can you deliver when your dependencies aren't using the same methodology? How can you use Agile techniques on a non-technology project? In this session, participants will learn simple definitions for some of those crazy buzzwords; effective ways to tailor project constraints and agile techniques that can be used right away.
How to Survive as a Traditional Project Manager in an Agile World
Sally Elatta, Founder, AgileTransformation.com
Kellie Morrell, Project Manager, Mutual of Omaha
If your organization has recently adopted Agile & Scrum methods or is considering using these techniques on future projects, then you might find yourself thinking ‘How Will This Affect Me?’ ‘What Do I Need To Know to Survive in an Agile World?’ ‘How is Agile Different from Traditional Project Management and What New Skills Do I Need?’. Agile and PMBOK are not at odds or in competition with each other as some may have you believe. To the contrary, they can live well together, in fact, even complement each other. As a Forester analyst put it, “A smart agile project manager does a lot of what PMBOK says but doesn’t call it PMBOK, and a smart PMBOK project manager using a lot of Agile techniques without calling it Agile”. So come learn from a real-world Agile Coach and some guest PMI project managers who are currently ScrumMasters what it means to transition to Agile.
Foundational Project Management: How to Ensure a Successful Project Before the Kickoff Meeting
Jack Caranci, Information Security Officer, First Data
Have you ever been assigned a project (or assigned a project; for you senior managers) with the expectation that it would start immediately? Have you ever found yourself in a situation where your project became so prioritized you had no time to plan? Have you ever had a long-term project go cold and finally get canceled? Have you ever had a project fail? If you answered yes to any of these, then help is here. There are definitive, formal steps that can be taken before engaging other resources in your project to change these answers to “no.” What can you possibly do to reverse the trends? If you are a Project Manager, bring your boss and explore the formal process that will reduce the risk of failure on all your projects.
Networking: It's Not Just for Computers Anymore
Marvin Brinkman, PMP
It’s not what you know, but who you know, right? It applies to much of life. But did you know that “who you know” can determine whether or not your project succeeds? Or whether or not you succeed as a project manager? Or it may help you get a job! Skilled networking is one of the next great competencies for all professionals, and one that project managers need as well. Marvin will discuss what networking is, how networking applies to project management (and other professions), how to do it (in a PM-friendly outline!), and an outline of the resources available to you.
Project Management Assurance
Deepak Khazanchi, Ph.D., Professor of Information Systems & Quantitative Analysis, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, College of Information Science and Technology, PKI, University of Nebraska at Omaha
Dawn Owens, Assistant Professor, College of Information Technology, Bellevue University
Chief Information Officers are increasingly held responsible for generating a positive return on IT project investment. As a result, there is a great need for devising ways to assure successful project outcomes. It is well established that by assessing the project throughout its lifecycle there is an increased chance of achieving success because potential risks can be identified and addressed before it is too late. In this talk, we will introduce and describe the idea of project management assurance (PMA) — a set of assurance activities that are integrated with the IT project management lifecycle. Using this approach, an internal group, independent of the project team, performs the assurance activities which include continual review of risk and control mechanisms to assure adherence to standards, best practices and procedures. The objective of the PMA process is to assure project success by reducing risk, continuously assessing internal project controls, and improving overall project quality while conforming to the stated schedule and budget requirements.
Project Management: An Industry. A Discipline. An Education.
Anissa Stein, Assistant Professor/Program Director, Project Management, College of Professional Studies, Bellevue University
This session will share how the growth of project management has created the need for greater development, an increased common language, and more specific development and delivery of education earlier, for example in high school. The goal of this interactive session is to provide greater awareness of project management beyond certification and share how project management can aid any industry, any organization. It is with this knowledge that educational programs can be developed or enhanced to ensure professionals are that much more prepared to lead in their field and impact the projects they serve.
Power Communication for Project Managers - How to Get People to Work Together for Results
Bill Cashell, Founder, Communicate for Success
Perhaps the greatest challenge in project management is to get a group of people from different groups to work together for results. As a project manager, you are generally given overwhelming responsibility with little actual authority. So, without such authority, how do you get others to "do something you are convinced should be done?" This program will give you skills for delegating authority without fear of losing control ... physical approaches for quickly building rapport with other persons ... tips for acquiring credibility in an unfamiliar setting ... and much more. This unique interactive session will provide you with the influence and communication skills to become a successful project leader, capable of motivating team members to achieve project objectives not because they have to but because they want to.
Keeping on Track... How to Ensure Your Project Isn't Derailed by Security
Laura Linhart, PMP, Manager Security Consulting, TD Ameritrade
No organization is immune to today’s constantly expanding security/threat landscape. With the expanding threat landscape, reduced budgets, and the bottom line to do “more with less”, the need for good risk management practices and procedures is now more critical than ever. Security (both physical and logical) has the responsibility to protect the organization, and ensure that these threats are being addressed. Project managers have the responsibility for successfully planning and delivering and organization’s project objectives. Most projects today involve information/and or data in some way, shape or form. In many cases, access to this data or information is the objective of the expanding security/threat landscape. The bottom line is that security is involved in all projects. By leveraging the fundamental project management process and taking a proactive approach, you can save your project from certain delays and derailment, avoiding painful additional costs, missed critical dates and deadlines and negative firm impact. This presentation will cover ways to partner with your security stakeholders using a risk management framework to keep your project on track.
Cloudy with a Chance of Governance!
Robert Stroud, Vice President and IT Service Management Governance Evangelist, CA
As IT professionals it is not enough to align with the business we must integrate IT with the business! IT is required to be experts in technology, masters of financial management, able to predict fluctuating demand and then balance the scarce resources to ensure that we deliver to correct level of service and at the correct time and the appropriate cost and meeting all government regulations. Adding to this mix are the emerging technological advances in virtualization, SaaS and Cloud computing, the proliferation of network connected devices and the ever increasing rate of IT enabled business change. Robert Stroud, CA's global evangelist for service management and governance will enlighten you with guidance on emerging technologies including virtualization and cloud, how it is and will be used and will provide tips and techniques on Implementing and continually improving IT Governance to implement an effective Governance environment.
Program is subject to change.
Track Leader
 Thank you to the PMI (Project Management Institute) - Heartland Chapter for developing the Project Management track.
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